Two months after allegations of horrific sexual abuse in the NHS first emerged, we can reveal none of the official probes have started

Health chiefs were ­criticised yesterday over the delay in beginning four NHS hospital probes into the Jimmy Savile scandal.

The NHS promised inquiries into the star’s alleged abuse of patients at three hospitals - Stoke Mandeville, Leeds General and Broadmoor.

A fourth internal probe will look into how Savile was appointed to a Broadmoor taskforce.

But two months after allegations of horrific sexual abuse in the NHS first emerged, the Mirror can reveal none of the official probes have started.

The DoH last night admitted it was still preparing for the inquiries, which could only begin once they have agreed plans with the police and local safeguarding boards.

But critics hit out at the astonishing delay and said the DoH’s explanation “lacks credibility”.

Peter Walsh, chief executive of charity Action against Medical Accidents, told the Mirror: “We find it surprising that - given the NHS is a public body - it is not urgently taking action. It’s wrong.

“They are using the excuse of a police investigation and this lacks credibility. The police are investigating completely different issues to those the NHS should be looking at.

“The NHS should be looking at systems procedures right now to reassure the public this cannot happen again.

“The police investigation is purely about criminal activity. There is an awful lot more we would have expected the NHS to have done already.”

The Department of Health announced that ex-barrister Kate Lampard will oversee the four probes.

But it has failed to explain to NHS patients when the inquiries will begin, what each one will be investigating and over what period of time, or who is in charge of each of the probes.

The Mirror can reveal Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Aylesbury, Bucks, is to bring in professionals from outside the hospital to work on its inquiry.

But it has yet to agree the probe’s terms of reference or a timetable for work.

National Voices - a coalition of over 100 health and care charities - said the NHS must act quickly to ensure problems can be addressed urgently.

National Voices chief executive Jeremy Taylor said: “These appear to be entirely internal inquiries, we don’t even know the names of the people, all of them who are going to conduct the inquiries, what the terms of reference are, how long they’re going to take.

“And actually we want all that out in the public domain so that the public itself can be involved and judge.

“That’s really important for accountability of the NHS to the public it serves.“

A DoH spokesman said: “These are appalling allegations, and alongside the three NHS trusts involved, we’re determined to get to the bottom of them.

"That is why Kate Lampard has been appointed to oversee these investigations and as part of this work she will identify lessons for the whole NHS where they are found.

“All four organisations undertaking reviews are scoping the work required and setting out robust processes that protect the interests of patients.

"Terms of reference for the reviews and details of the process will be published shortly.”

Ealier this month we told how hundreds of hospitals had been ordered to review celebrity access to patients in the wake of the Savile scandal.

NHS boss Sir David Nicholson wrote to chiefs of 300 trusts in England and said: “While the nature of protection for children and young people in the NHS is far in advance of what it was in the 1970s and 1980s, we must be absolutely sure that all our existing NHS procedures are robust.”

Hospitals were told to check whether concerns raised by patients in the past about celebrity visits were ignored.